Apple Duathlon

The weather was perfect for the Apple Duathlon on Saturday (Sunny, mid 70s, and SE 5 mph breeze).   The weather was probably the biggest factor contributing to me setting a new course record of 1:19:57.   The old record was 1:21 something.  I still had good performance.  I ran similar run splits as previous year, but not having a major head wind on the final stretch of the bike was the key.  Hopefully, everyone was able to set a PR or come close this year.  I don't think we'll be so lucky for awhile.

Here is a quick recap of the race from my perspective.  Justin Hurd and I ran side by side in the lead for the first 5k run (15:36 or 5:02 per mi).  Brooks, Chad, and Patrick were 30 seconds behind.  I was hoping to drop Justin on the bike, but it wasn't a sure thing.  Justin is a descent bike rider himself.  I got a slight advantage leaving T1 on Justin and never looked back, so I can't tell you if there was a desicive moment when a gap developed.  I just kept pedaling hard the entire course.  Hard meaning you can feel every pedal stroke and you want to quit each revolution.  I just told myself each stoke is preventing a more painful sprint finish.  So, I was happy to see no one else in T2 with me.  I still tried to run with a quick cadence the second run, but I settled into semi-comfortable pace (17:02 or 5:29 per mi).  I had a comfortable gap at the finish.  The guys finishing 3rd through 6th had to gut it out.  Partrick, Josh, Kevin and Devin all finish within 40 second of each other.

The womens finish was also tight.  Cathy and Julie finished 11 seconds apart.  Cathy passed Julie in the closing half mile.  My wife, Hannah, also had a good race despite knee problems.  She finished 3rd in her age group.

Results